


Fort Therapy

by ChasetheSun2



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Almost smut, Cuddling, Erisol is Depression Incarnate, Homestuck Polyswap 2018, Mentions of sad masturbation, Multi, Quadrant Confusion, Self Loathing, Xenobiology, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 17:38:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15272751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChasetheSun2/pseuds/ChasetheSun2
Summary: How do you stop someone from crying while they're jerking it?





	Fort Therapy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CriminalCryptid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CriminalCryptid/gifts).



  
\-- turntechGodhead [TG] started pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 20:03 --

 

TG: hey man  
TG: is this a good time  
TG: got a bit of a conundrum here  
TG: a real brain twister if you will  
TG: come on man i know youre nocturnal and all that shit but i need help  
TG: karkat  
TG: kranky  
TG: karkles  
TG: karkalicious

CG: CALL ME THAT AGAIN AND I WILL PERSONALLY GRAB YOUR HIDEOUS HUMAN BULGE AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR WASTE CHUTE.

TG: oh good youre awake  
TG: wait which name is off limits

CG: ANY OF THEM.  
CG: EXCEPT MY OWN NAME OBVIOUSLY, BEFORE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE TO COME BACK AT ME WITH YOUR HORRIBLY PREDICTABLE “BITING” WIT.  
CG: WHAT DO YOU WANT.

TG: erisols doing the thing again  


CG: WHAT THING.  
CG: _THE_ THING???  


TG: If were both talking about the moping self pity then yes  


CG: FUCKING JESUS’ TITS.  


TG: hey man im worried too but theres no need to get blasphemous here  


CG: SO HOW IS THIS A BRAIN TWISTER EXACTLY?  


TG: im going to ask you a question  
TG: but you need to promise not to laugh at me  
TG: or him  
TG: real sensitive stuff okay  
TG: white house levels of confidentiality  


CG: OKAY….?  


TG: so  
TG: how do you stop someone from crying while they’re jerking it  


CG:  
CG: WHAT.  


TG: hey man  
TG: i never promised that the question would make sense  
TG: thats why its a brain twister  
TG: hes in his room  
TG: jerking it  
TG: sobbing like someone told him christmas was canceled  
TG: sorry whoville no presents this year  
TG: aw shit well let me just whack it and cry  


CG: SHUT UP. PLEASE.  
CG: I DO NOT NEED THIS IMAGERY BURNED INTO MY BRAIN.  
CG: I’LL BE RIGHT DOWN.

 

* * *

 

Karkat shoved away from his desk. The headache he’d been nursing already that evening only throbbed harder as the confusion and irritation began to fully sink in and sour his mood - if his mood could be further soured, that is. He sincerely doubted it. Karkat had never really been a morning person, or a waking person in this case, and being caught in the middle of his sleep cycle by one certain rambling human matesprit didn’t help.

Neither did the conversation’s subject matter.

Down the hall he trudged, still wearing the fleece pyjama pants and old ratty t-shirt that he’d worn to bed. There was really no point in changing. Dave, Erisol, hell - almost everyone he’d spent three miserable sweeps with trying to create a new universe and survive had seen him in worse. Or in some cases less. Point is, he didn’t care about his poor morning fashion, and hadn’t cared in a long time.

“I’m here,” He called, banging on Dave’s door. The figure inside the darkened room nearly leapt out of its skin and let out a yelp that Karkat knew would later be vehemently denied. Karkat tried to arrange his face into one of bland disinterest to hide the smile and save the other his humility.

“Hey,” The figure turned and Dave’s face was just as passive as ever. The last ten seconds didn’t happen, nope, no siree bob. “I didn’t really know if you wanted to meet me here, or like, in Erisol’s room, but I don’t think it’s really polite to interrupt a dude in the middle of his self-pity jerk-off session.”

Karkat wrinkled his nose, putting up a clawed hand. Dave’s eyes, hidden behind the shades, immediately went to the squishy beans on Karkat’s palm and the pads of his fingers. He couldn’t help himself, really.

“Please, don’t remind me of what he’s doing.” Karkat said in an exasperated tone. “I’d rather wait until the evidence is gone before I even set a single balance stub in his respiteblock.”

“You mean, foot in his room.”

“....Yeah. That.”

Something like a smirk crossed Dave’s expression. “Either way he’s probably not gonna talk to us without some severe prompting. Like, we’re talking eight-paragraph roleplay starter levels of prompt here.”

“You’re been hanging around with Davepeta too much,” Karkat grumbled. “So then what’s your plan? Since clearly you disapprove of just walking in there and asking what’s wrong like a normal person.”

Dave smiled, and Karkat didn’t like it one bit. “Remember that thing you wanted to do?” He asked.

Karkat had to think for a moment, but when he recalled what Dave was talking about, his eyes widened. A glimmer of excitement shone in his eyes.

“Seriously?” He asked.

“Seriously.”  
  
Karkat nodded enthusiastically.

 

* * *

 

\-- turntechGodhead [TG] started pestering caligulasArmageddon [CA] at 22:57 --

 

TG: hey  
TG: slime time  
TG: flubber  


CA: wwhat do you wwant?  
CA: cant anyone ju2t let me mope iin peace je2u2 fliippiin chrii2t!  


TG: wow no comments about the nicknames  
TG: you really do feel like shit  
TG: well im about to fix that  
TG: pull some clothes on and wipe the geneslime off your lap  
TG: knight in less than shiny armor coming through  


CA:  
CA: WWERE YOU WWATCHIIN ME?  


TG: thats neither here nor there my flubbery friend  
TG: but the answer is no either way  
TG: i may or may not have caught a glimpse  


CA: ii hate you wwiith the utmo2t pa22iion.  
CA: ii hate my2elf.  
CA: fuck.  


TG: yeah yeah romance me later hot stuff  
TG: karkats on his way so  
TG: yknow  
TG: prepare yourself  


CA: FIINE. Ugh.

 

Erisol had barely just enough time to clean himself off and wipe his face of excess tears when he heard a knock at the door. Did he have the energy to float across the room to the door and open it, he wondered. He lifted himself out of his desk chair and promptly fell back down into it with a low, disdained grunt. Nope. Not at all.

“Come in.” He groused. “I ain’t gettin outta my chair anytime soon, clearly.”

The door opened. Not one, but two heads poked in. Karkat, looking unsure about pretty much everything at this point, and Dave with an utterly conspiratorial expression that Erisol wasn’t sure he liked all that much. Didn’t hate it, which was odd, but it certainly threw him for a loop.

“Go on, Karkat, pick up the princess.” Dave urged. Karkat rolled his eyes and Erisol’s one miserable fin pinned back. He put his hands up defensively as Karkat began to walk towards him.

“Wh - n--”

“Deal with it.” Karkat interrupted, picking Erisol up bridal-style despite his protests. The sprite folded his arms, eyes narrowed, glaring at Karkat and Dave in turn. Unperturbed, the two carried him down the stairs of their home, into the communal living room. As he looked up, the sour look on his face was immediately replaced with one of confusion, then awe.

The furniture that normally occupied the space in the living room was gone - where, Erisol had no idea, but he assumed that Jade had something to do with it by the small box on the kitchen table. Instead, there was a pile of soft cushions and blankets arranged in a sort of nest in the center of the floor, facing the television. Blankets hung from tacks in the ceiling, draping around the pile like a makeshift tent. String lights - where the hell did they get those? - were hung around the blankets, casting a warm yellowish glow on the otherwise dim room. Snacks and drinks of every kind were balanced on the creaky coffee table just to the left of the massive, welcoming fort. Atop the fort, in Karkat’s terrible writing in bright red marker, were the words _Fort Therapy_ written on a piece of cardboard.

Erisol spotted a Call of Duty loading screen frozen on the TV and his lips pursed. He’d never admit it, but they picked just right.

“Is this cause of what Dave caught me doin,” He mumbled, seeming to shrink in on himself. “This is ridiculous.”

“Yep, and nope,” Dave said, unabashed. “Listen, Flubber, we ain’t gonna have you crying alone in your room all the time. Not that that’s not healthy sometimes, but all the time? Hell no. So sit your ass down and let us spoil you, mkay?”

Erisol’s brow furrowed. “Is this some kinda pale trio solicitation, or….”

“Something like that.” Karkat’s ears had turned a light red. He wasn’t meeting Erisol’s eyes. His round teeth worried his lower lip until it turned a worrisome pink under the stress. “Just enjoy it. Don’t question it.”

It took a moment, but Erisol sighed and nodded, wrapping his arms around Karkat’s shoulders. Dave crawled into the fort first, then held his arms out for Karkat to pass off Erisol. The sprite let out an undignified squawk at the tradeoff, but once it was done, didn’t protest. If anything, he curled up to Dave a little tighter.

Karkat crawled in behind them, and the two sandwiched Erisol in between their bodies. The confused sprite chirped, unsure, fin flaring in alarm.

“Relax.” Karkat was careful, much more gentle than usual as he reached up and ran a hand through Erisol’s hair. “Don’t worry about it. Just enjoy it, okay? We did all this shit for you.”

The gentle scrape of claws against Erisol’s horn beds made him shiver. He had to fight off the urge to curl up against them both, looking uncomfortable and straight-backed, laying stiff between the two of them. His pride - or rather, the pride that half of him still stubbornly clung to with tooth and claw - wouldn’t let him relax.

“Why?” He asked, trying to squirm slightly. Dave’s warm hand caught his cheek in what was an unmistakable _pap_ and Erisol went stiff. His fin flared, eyes wide.

Dave and Karkat’s eyes both lit up in recognition. The look on Erisol’s face meant they’d just hit bingo. Karkat buried his face into the surprisingly soft, un-slimey fuzz of Erisol’s undercut, purring quietly. Dave pressed closer, slowly, pausing whenever Erisol tensed and letting the sprite relax into the sensations.

“Cause we wanted to.” Dave murmured. “Do we have to have a reason?”

“Yes.” Erisol mumbled, clearly unused to this. Despite his clearly fake sour expression he curled his claws into Dave’s shirt. Neither the troll nor the human seemed to acknowledge his voice except for to press closer to him, wrapping their arms around his middle in a strangely unison movement. If Erisol had a heart, he was sure it would be hammering loud enough for both of them to hear.

“Just let yourself enjoy something for once.” Karkat said, trying to sound like his normal gruff self and only serving to make his voice vibrate with the sound of his purring. He nuzzled into Erisol’s neck, pressing a light kiss there, looking up at Dave. The human nodded his approval even as Erisol let out a very undignified squeak.

“What’re you - what is this? Why are you--?”

“It isn’t obvious yet?” Dave was the one to speak this time. Karkat peppered gentle kisses along Erisol’s shoulder, making him squirm and blush a bright green. “Cmon. We set up a nice big pillow fort, got all your favorite snacks, your favorite video game--”

“‘S not my favorite--” Erisol grumbled, with no weight behind his words as Karkat nipped at his ear.

“--and the two people who’ve been flirting with you for weeks now.” Dave cut him off. Erisol’s eyes went wide; he hadn’t realised the other two had been _flirting._ Looking back he couldn’t even think of anything that popped out at him as flirting. A confused warble left him. Dave heard it and shook his head. “Clueless.”

“....Fuck you.”

“Maybe later.”

Erisol’s fin fluttered and he let out an embarrassed noise. Dave breathed out what was supposed to be a laugh and Karkat chuckled as the sprite buried his head into the human’s chest. Dave reached around both Erisol and Karkat, pulling them both close into his warmth. Twin purrs emanated from the both of them, rumbling from somewhere deep in their chests.

It was silent for several long moments. Not so much as to make it awkward, but the comfortable, dozy sort of silence that invited warmth and contentment. Erisol closed his eyes, fighting back a yawn. “‘M tired.” He mumbled. Dave shifted, reaching up to gently rub his horns. Erisol squeaked and squirmed, but eventually settled down again into his heady purr.

“Don’t go to sleep yet.” Karkat said quietly, pressing one last kiss to Erisol’s shoulders. “You still have to tell us what upset you.”

There was silence from the sprite for a moment. He bit his lip. Half of him wanted to come out with it and the other half wanted to shut the hell up and hide away his emotions, pretend they didn’t exist. What ended up happening was a strangled sort of mumble, muffled by Dave’s pectorals: “....Thought no one could love me. Cause I’m a horrid, mishmash amalgamation, some kinda--”  
  
“Stop.” Dave cut him off again. “No more of that. Got it?”

Erisol went quiet, but nodded, face burning. He yawned again softly. Karkat and Dave looked at one another over his shoulder, then in a synchronized motion, wrapped their arms around him tightly and pressed close.

“We’ll talk about this later.” Karkat said softly. Dave nodded his assent.

Erisol would argue -  no, he doesn’t want to talk about it, not now, not later, not ever - but it was too warm and comfortable in the small fort, stuck between two burning hot people. Weeks of insomnia was quickly catching up to him. His eyes fluttered shut and as he yawned his teeth clicked together.

...Maybe they could talk about it later. Maybe they could talk about quadrants, too - if this even was a quadrant. Maybe some talking would be good….if things kept going like this.

“Cute,” He barely heard someone mumble as he closed his eyelids. Erisol couldn’t reply. He was already drifting off to sleep.


End file.
